Recipe // Start of Spring Soup

“Fresh veggies! Sweet and salty! All the best flavors of spring! It’s a great way to start off the season!”

Back when Foots and I decided we were going to cast away our old lives of eating take-out food and instant ramen every night and start cooking out own food, we wanted to find a way to do it without being too overbearing on our lives. (AKA, not cooking every day.)

So we came up with a system. One night we would make enough lunches for 3-4 days. The next night we would make enough dinner for 2-3 nights. And then stagger the cooking. But what food lasts 3-4 lunches?

Soup.

We’ve been soup fiends for the past few months. Every week making a new soup. We have some we do over and over again (read: Veggie Chili) and some we try once (read: a really terrible corn and basil soup I will never make ever again).

But now it’s spring time – and the days are getting warmer – and soup is seeming less and less appealing. So I thought I would do a search for “spring soup” recipes. And that’s exactly what I Googled.

I found a whole bunch of recipes that call for veggies that are fresh in March, April, May – and found one recipe that I liked the sound of, so I made it – with my own twist of course.

Fresh veggies! Sweet and salty! All the best flavors of spring! It’s a great way to start off the season!

Recipe // Gubs’ Start of Spring Soup

Warning: I am not a professional chef. I do not use exact measurements. I provide guidelines. Season everything to your own taste. Leave out what you don’t want to eat. Add what you enjoy. Take your time. Make with care. Assemble. Prep. Cook!

Makes: 8 to 10 servings of soup – depending on how much soup you eat at once.Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour total cook time, depending on how fast you cutSurvives: 5 days in the fridgeBang for your Buck: $$// Lots of veggies – but it all goes a long way!

// Ingredients

// Method

1 // Prep that mise en place

– Chop onion into long, thin strips – like French onion soup
– Take leeks. Wash them well on inside and outside. Cut them in half lengthwise and then into strips widthwise.
– Finely chop garlic.
– Chop celery into bite sized pieces.
– Cut carrots into pea-sized pieces.
– Cut potatoes into a twice-bite-sized-pieces.

2 // Soup base

– Melt a sizable gob of butter and a dollop of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.
– When hot, add onions. Cook until tender and soft and buttery and good – about 7 to 10 minutes.
– Once onions are tender, add in the garlic and the leeks. Cook until tender and well integrated – about 5 more minutes.
– Add in carrots and celery. Cook until tender, stirring to integrate, for another 5 minutes.

3 // Soup and stock

– Add veggie broth, and bring to a boil.
– While waiting for the boil, add in 2 – 3 bay leaves, 11 cranks of everyday seasoning, 7 dashes of salt, and a sneeze of pepper.
– Once boiling, add in the potatoes.
– Cover and cook on a low simmer for 20 minutes.
– At 20 minutes, check the potatoes. You want them to be just cooked. If they are still a little raw in the middle, cook for 1 – 5 minutes longer.
– Once potatoes are fully cooked, add in 1/2 cup of cream or half-and-half (whatever you have in the house) and turn off the heat.
– As the soup cools, stir the cream to fully integrate it.
– Taste and season with everyday seasoning, salt, and garlic salt to taste.

4 // The waiting game

– You thought you could eat the soup? You’re wrong.
– Wait until the soup has come to room temperature or leave it out for about an hour to cool (whichever comes first). Then put the soup in a big pyrex bowl and leave it in the fridge overnight. This lets the flavors marinate and come together and love each other and it’s beautiful.

Eating Later // Heat up soup for 1 – 2 minutes in the microwave. Serve with crusty bread or your favorite soup condiment.

Scorecard // Just in time for Spring

EASE TO MAKE ★★★★☆ – How can you say no to soup? Just cut and cook!

TIME TO MAKE ★★★☆☆ – It’s not really “active” time, but it is a long time between the simmering and the letting it sit overnight. I’m always a little bit upset when I don’t get to eat food as soon as I’m done cooking it.

LEFTOVER-ABILITY ★★★★★ – 5 nights? And all you have to do is put it in the microwave? And it gets BETTER with age? What even is this magic?

TASTINESS ★★★★☆ – I’m a bit spoiled. I love soups – especially ones I have perfected over many years. This one does the trick, but I’m always thinking of new ways to jazz things up!

REDO-ABILITY ★★★★☆ – Absolutely. I love a good soup and this one really breaks the “winter heavy soup” mold. It’s bright and tasty and really puts a spring in your step!

FINAL JUDGEMENT: ★★★★☆

A solid soup! If you’re looking for a quick-and-easy way to transition from winter blues to spring greens, this is the way to go! If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can try adding kale or spinach or even asparagus to this – whatever signifies spring to YOU! Enjoy!

Do you know a recipe I should try?
Or do you know a restaurant that does this recipe really well?
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